Bert's Getting Ready For Christmas

Bert already has his Christmas decorations up at the VanWervens!
**photo courtesy of Luanne**

Abundant Blessings - Thanksgiving Twenty-Ten

I was up before 6:00 this morning to get my turkey in the oven and it was delightfully snowing outside. This is the view out my front door around 7:00. It's been a long time since we have had a white Thanksgiving. I knew right away this was going to be a really fun day!!

Oh I so made PW's Throw Down turkey this year. This 20 lb'er was brined overnight, cooked covered at 250 degrees for three hours, then basted with this amazing herb butter mix before being returned to the oven to finish cooking uncovered.

Later it came out a beautifully browned turkey. I also made stuffing, our traditional Honcoop sweet potatoes, Leslie's harvest jello, and four desserts. My only debacle was my gravy - hey wait...didn't that happen to PW on Throw Down also??

It was time to load and go...but alas the fifteen year old first took a few of her now famous self portraits. Of course she did!

...and a shot of the pumpkin she NEVER carved for Halloween!

Waiting for the meal Uncle Genius's Ipad was a hit!
*pic courtesy of Jill*

Jack opened our Thanksgiving devotions with the Likkel tradition of reading of Psalm 100...

...and Sam shared his very special "thankful" list with us...
*pic courtesy of Jill*

...and then is was on to the food!

I must say my PW turkey was A-MA-ZING!

Oh happy, thankful day! Brandon & Greta's smiles say it all!

Lawn and Vern perusing the oh-so-abundant eating options.

Seriously I can't believe Ross, Taya and the boys are with us again this year. What a blessing!

After eating the kids went outside and constructed two snow forts anticipating a major snowball fight. The only problem was they accidentally built their forts too far apart and couldn't actually throw a snowball far enough to hit each other. Too funny! Then the adult males joined in and it didn't matter anymore...

...because it was game-on...

and all-out war!
*snow pics courtesy of Jill*

Later in the afternoon Darryl, Karin & I took out our old trusty family slide projector and looked at some slides of our growing up years. Oh the memories! So much fun! Grandma, Taryn & Lawn joined us to watch the show.

It's been many years since we've seen some of these slides. I took a picture of this one of Dad moving a building. Dad liked moving building on to the farm. If you look in the building you can see it was being moved by his tractor. I'm not exactly sure which building this is but I'm sure Uncle Genius knows. Our neighbor Kenny Shagren is on the far left, Daddy behind me (in that oh so stunning orange pants outfit my mom made) and Uncle Gerrit next to me with his arms crossed.

The guys had a bit of a game of Stock Market before we hit dessert. Greta made four of the most amazing pumpkin pecan and apple pies, Karin made her very best fudge ever, and Grandma made batches of her renown divinity.

The snow stopped before it got dark and the temp went up to 32 degrees. By the next morning our 5 inches of snow were rapidly disappearing, and the grass was showing green patches again everywhere. So much for this snow!

She's Been Bracing For This Day!

They're on! Today the fifteen year old got her braces. And don't let that smile fool you...it was an uber-sad fifteen year old I dropped off at school after she was "braced". Fearing the worst reaction from friends she instead was surprised by their affirmation.

So all is well...except that her teeth are quite sore, and the abrasion of her new braces have resulted in several open sores in her mouth. It will toughen up soon and she will be fine.

By the way, while you can't really tell from this pick she selected her favorite color for her new braces - orange! Of course she did!

First Winter Storm

We didn't get much snow, but we sure got wind...gusts of 55 mph...here in Whatcom County. And not just wind, but temps in the teens so with wind chill we are considered well below zero...and it sure feels that way!

Our garage buffers the worst of the NE wind from us which is nice. I'm always much more concerned about my Mom in weather like this. Her house takes a direct hit. Britt has kept a very close eye on her like he always does.

So while Seattle is paralyzed with snow, we endure another relentless and cruel Northeaster. Oh bother! (an Eeyore quote)

Meet My N.M.E.

This is the "project" the boy helped Grandpa with. I call it the N.M.E.

Now if you say those initials together is sounds like “enemy”, and that’s not far from the truth. Actually N.M.E. stands for No More Excuses!

*sigh*

The Project

The boys are here for a sleepover tonite and they were so excited that after dinner they got to help grandpa in the basement. Isaiah said "oh boy, we have a project!"

What could this be in such a big box??

Shower for Ki

Totally forgot my camera but wanted to remember that today we celebrated little Ki with a shower at Aunt Kathy's home. Audrey's mom Joyce, sister-in-law Jodie and niece Brooke joined us, and we had a wonderful time showering Ki with gifts and great rejoicing that he is now here with us! Btw...he is one of the most beautiful babies I have EVER seen!
Welcome Ki!

A Precious Gift

After my Daddy died six years ago my best friend Kay made a beautiful shadow box for me as a tribute to him. This past year she remade the box and gave it back to me for my birthday.

It is sitting on my counter right now...I just want to keep it close for a while and enjoy the memories of the wonderful man that blessed my life in so many ways. I still miss him every day.

Thank you Kay!

More Birthday Blessings

Brandon & Greta hosted a wonderful birthday dinner for me tonight.
It has been a long time since all of us have been "just us" together so this was extra special to me. Grandpa was sure happy to see his little boys again...it had been too long!

On this super cold evening Britt and Nermal enjoyed a seat near the fireplace.

Greta made the most amazing ravioli, yes I said "made". I'm not sure I have ever had homemade ravioli before, and it was amazing! She even made us two kinds - spinach and goat cheese in a light alfredo sauce, and sausage and parmesan in a marinara sauce.

Look What's Coming...

SNOW ! ? !

My New Favorites - Abundance & RAW

Love these new multigrain hot cerals from BetterOats with 100% all natural oats, whole grain and flax. A "cornucopia of the best flavors and textures on earth". So quick, easy and delicious!

Comes in these convenient single serving pouches that are then used to measure the water. Two minutes in the microwave and they're ready to eat! Perfect on these coming cold winter mornings I hear are on the way!

Meet Mia

Little Mia is the newest member of Britt & Shana's family...and is she cute or what! Welcome Mia.

A Deserved Reward

Gary has worked late every nite this week so I decided he needed a very special meal tonite to thank him for working so hard for our family.

I found a few new recipes and made a fresh avocado salad, grilled rib eye with rosemary-shallot butter, bacon red smashed potatoes, buttered rosemary rolls…and he was way too full to even think of my pumpkin dessert.

Volleyball State Finals

Taryn was invited by the Robin's to travel to Yakima this weekend for the Volleyball State tournament, and judging from her pics on Facebook she and Katherine are having a great time! Katherine's sister Heidi is a senior on LC's volleyball team.

LC has a strong team and we're hoping they do well at state. Go Lyncs!

Fall Concert at Western

It was quite an honor for LC's Concert Choir to be invited by Western Washington University to participate in their fall concert. LC sang three numbers and them performed a song together with Westerns Choir.

Taryn was absolutely blown away by the acoustics of Westerns PAC Concert Hall. I could not go, but Gary surprised her and showed up. What an amazing night for LC!

Passion Twenty-Ten World Tour - Vancouver

Yes Lord, walking in the ways of Your laws we wait for You,

for Your name and renown are the desire of our hearts

~ Isaiah 26:8

London, Jakarta, Tokyo, Johannesburg, San Paulo, Sydney - six continents and seventeen cities - and then today, November 5, Passion 2010 came here to Vancouver BC!

My brother Ryan and I were privileged to have a front row seat as we volunteered to assist this massive gathering of over 11,000 students aged 19 - 25 willing to stake their lives on what matters most...the fame of the One who is able to rescue and restore - Jesus.

Chris Tomlin (pictured here) David Crowder and Matt Redmond led worship, then Louie Giglio challenged this group of worshipers to make their life count for His fame. What a privilege to be a small part of such an amazing event!

Victory on Election Nigth!

This is how I spent election night - watching returns come in on my laptop at the Republican Victory Party at Homestead in Lynden.

We took the U.S. House...

...elected a stellar new County Councilman, Tony Larson. This was an intensely personal race for Gary...

...watched Vince Buys take out a liberal seventeen year incumbent...

...and enjoyed the fellowship of family and friends as we celebrated together.